Life, what is it anyway? Personally, I think it is a place to learn. We come to learn the things we need to know. We are given opportunities to learn, and we can choose to learn those lessons now or later.

If we choose NOT to grow, we become petty. Without growth we seek self aggrandizement at the expense of others. One lesson I taught as a teacher is that there are two ways to make yourself big. One is to try and ridicule others and make them appear small. The other is to help others grow, this makes you a bigger person. You truly grow as a person by making a greater contribution to the world. Petty individuals cannot contribute to a mission, they are too centered on protecting themselves.

Fundamentally, I am Taoist. Individualistic, ethereal, abstract, mystical. Yet on another level I am rational, reasoning, so tied to the Western Scientific Paradigm. And that perhaps makes me more Taoist than not, for paradox is at the heart of Taoist thought. Simplicity, clarity, patience, persistence, confidence, these are all qualities that come from this combination of being. A combination of East and West, a combination of reason and intuition, a combination of push and pull, a combination of give and take, a combination of technology and spirit. A combination of yin and yang.Each is always present, the secret to enjoying life is knowing how to keep them in balance.